11 Stages Of Having A Crush
by FanficTimeWithAlyssum
Summary: Annabeth Chase tried so hard to hate Percy Jackson. But she was the moth, and he was the light. With her grades failing and her mom breathing down her back, Annabeth tries to stop her obsession with Percy by approaching him with a friendly manner. When friendliness swings into wanting attention, Annabeth goes through 11 stages of having a crush. Rated T for language.
1. Prologue

Prologue:

She didn't want to like him. She didn't even know what made her like him. Was it his perfectly messy but sexy midnight black hair that smelled like the ocean? Was it his eyes, deep and mesmerizing, so unprecedently green it could hypnotize someone? Or was it his sun kissed skin, not too tan but not too little, that made him look like a swimsuit model? His physique, strong and sturdy but his muscles not that obvious? Maybe it was his cute personality, so nonchalant, naïve, clumsy, and sanguine...?

It was as if Aphrodite put a spell on him, that no girl could ever resist him. (Except his family, of course.) Annabeth tried so hard to hate him, but it was like a moth trying not to be attracted to light. She made a voodoo doll and pasted his face on it. The next day after making it, she planned to stab it and cut the head off, but she ended up sleeping with it. She printed a picture of his face and drew a mustache on him and pinned it against a dartboard. She ended up on the floor, stroking the picture. She tried so hard to hate him.

Her obsession with him was taking a toll on her academics too. Soon, straight A Annabeth became B- Annabeth. She saw him everywhere; on the people on her math textbook, in crowds at the mall, on posters.

She didn't want to like him. But Annabeth was human; she couldn't just stop her emotions with a snap of her fingers.

So, she tried talking to him. She tried to become friends so that she wouldn't have to think about him.

_Percy Jackson..._

_Percy Jackson..._

_Mrs. Annabeth Jackson..._


	2. Freak Out

11 Stages Of Having A Crush

by FanficTimeWithAlyssum

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Rick Riordan. The words are mine. The plot is based on a BuzzFeed article called 11 Stages Of Having A Crush. Check it out. It's basically what's going to happen, but with a little twists I'm going to throw in.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Freak Out

_Stage 1: You start freaking out whenever they walk by.  
_

I spent the last three hours trying to decide what to wear to school. It was either my gray blazer that matched my eyes with a white blouse along with peachy-pink tight jeans and brown sandals or an ocean blue tube top with ripped faded jeans and teal Toms. Knowing that Thalia would never approve of a blazer and a tube top isn't appropriate for school, I decide 20 minutes before school starts to wear a gray sweater with dark blue tight jeans, white leg warmers and brown leather boots. As I run to the stairs, I nearly trip and tumble over Bobby and Matthew's toy robots.

"Bobby," I scream, my ears fuming as I jump down the rest of the stairs. My stomps make the house shake. Through a dark wood door upstairs I hear muffled shouting. I groan and barge through the kitchen doors. My step mom Helen holds out a paper bag and I take it from her while muttering a thank you.

I swing the fridge door open and stick a strawberry frosted donut in my mouth and slam it closed. Helen opens her mouth to say something but waves. I wave back, throw my gray backpack over my shoulder and stick my phone in my pocket and trudge out the door.

The vibrating against my thigh signals that someone has texted me. I wait until I stand by my bus stop to fish my phone out of my pocket. It's Thalia.

_Click on this link to a love calculator. It really works! Ttyl._

My eyes widen on the word 'love.' I look around, making sure no one is around. I bite my lip as my finger hovers over the link.

_Screw it, _I think. I tap the link.

_Insert your full name: Annabeth Chase_

_Insert the names of your three crushes:_

I hesitate. Three? I only have one...well...

_1. Percy Jackson_

_2. Luke Castellan_

_3. Jason Grace_

I bite my lip and click the CALCULATE button. What I see next stops my heart. I've been keeping this secret for years, and now it was being emailed to Thalia.

_Haha, you've been tricked! All three of your crushes have been sent to Thalia Grace's email. _

I scream and flail my arms. Me, Annabeth Chase, a straight A student, fell for something as stupid as this. I was gullible enough to click on that fucking link and put the full names of the people I like. Stupid to trust Thalia. Most of all, stupid to trust something I don't even know, to click on it just because it appealed to me with the word love. Was I thinking, was I even thinking? I scoff and roll my eyes. I wrap a scarf around my face to cover my growing blush. Thalia, that little...

I see the bus lights climb the street in the distance. I'm the only one at my bus stop. I click my phone off and slide it into my backpack. I'll get back at Thalia later. Maybe I'll set her up with Luke. Everyone knows that they like each other but Luke and Thalia themselves. It's sad and very awkward. But then again, there's _him_...

The bus squeaks to a stop in front to me and opens the doors. I fight my way through the tangle of limbs and backpacks in the aisle and sit next to a random person. I fish my phone out of my pocket and click on Thalia's name in messages.

_Oh, what I'm going to do to that girl, _I think, my nostrils flaring._ That little bitch-_

"Hey, Annabeth."

My eyes flicker to the person sitting next to me and I jump. I can't see him for a moment, but I know it's a guy because of his deep voice. The sun blinds me, but dances around his head. Then the bus passes by a tree that blocks the sun, and suddenly we're face to face. I gasp at our sudden closeness, but I can't help but study his eyes. They're a serious shade of blue with subtle streaks of light gray. In my peripheral vision, I see a faded pink mark on traveling from above his eyebrow to his cheek.

It's the same scar I've been familiar with for almost 10 years now.

"Hey Luke," I smirk, blushing a bit. I met Luke when I was 6 years old. At the time, Thalia was my best friend so I introduced her to him, and ever since then we've become the three musketeers, the golden trio.

I've felt a slight shift in the air when Thaila, Luke and I have been hanging out together. I know, I know, I put Luke as one of my three crushes. I do like him, probably more than I would ever admit. But I love Percy more. And for Jason, Thalia's little brother, well, I had a small crush on him when I was 8. I don't like him now, even though he grew taller, is rich, and has the biggest muscles out of the whole school.

"You wanna go to Monster Donuts after school today? Invite Thals too?" Luke pouts, and I roll my eyes and nod. The bus pulls up to school, and out the window I see Thalia's spiky hair stick out of the crowd. As soon as the bus doors open, I run to Thalia and drag her into school. I feel her smirk behind me, and without a word she follows me into the bathroom.

I glare at her, narrowing my eyes to make my gray eyes look daunting, but she only rolls her eyes.

"What do you want, _Mrs. Jackson?" _Thalia cackles_, _causing me to swing my hand to her face. She stops my hand and grips my elbow, squeezing and digging her nails into my sweater. "Are you angry because you don't like Jackson? Do you prefer Mrs. Castellan instead? Or Mrs. Grace?"

Using my other hand, I swiftly slam my palm into her cheek. Being the stoic bitch she is, she smiles sweetly, clearly unfazed.

"What the hell, Thalia!" My eyes water, feeling embarrassed and betrayed. "Why?"

"Why not?" Thalia laughs breathily. "Know I know that you like my cousin, my brother, and our best friend." Thalia shakes her head. "C'mon, let's talk later. We're gonna be late."

She drags me out of the bathroom, and we're met with a mob of frizzy hair, caked make up, screaming and, sour smelling perfume.

And then I see him. In a green hoodie that matches his eyes and ripped up jeans and with his buddies Nico and Grover by his side, he enters school in a blaze of glory. Girls chant his name, screaming for him to sign their breasts and to attend their parties. He walks through the crowd, pushing through hundreds of arms reaching to touch him. He makes his way towards me and Thalia, and I freeze. My eyes widen. I glance at Thalia, my mouth hanging open, my eyes begging her to tell me what to do, but she only rolls her eyes in response. He is closer now, and now I see that he's look straight at me. With each step towards us I feel my heart beat run faster, and my brain stops working. I forget how to breathe. And then he's in front of us, smiling, waving. I don't know what to do; should I wave back? Smile? I blush and look down, and give a small wave. I look up at him and open my mouth to say hi when...

...he walks right past me.

"Thalia, we have a family dinner after school," his deep voice says. I don't see him. My back is turned to him, and even if I was facing him I wouldn't be able to see him through the tears in my eyes. I hear Thalia groan.

"Right after school," she whines. "Percy, I-"

I turn completely off. My arms start shaking, and I can't breathe. How embarrassing, waving to someone but they're not waving at you. I feel nauseous. I want to throw up my organs. To disappear.

I don't hear the rest of their conversation. I walk towards class and take deep breaths.

Does he know my name? Does he even know I exist?


	3. Awkward

11 Stages Of Having A Crush

by FanficTimeWithAlyssum

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Rick Riordan. The words are mine. The plot is based on a BuzzFeed article called 11 Stages Of Having A Crush. Check it out. It's basically what's going to happen, but with a little twists I'm going to throw in.

Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Awkward...

_Stage 2: All of your conversations will get super awkward._

It was 11th period, architecture. I tap my pencil against the paper I was supposed to be taking notes on, writing MRS. ANNABETH JACKSON everywhere and doodling his face. I really nailed his jawline this time. The teacher, Mrs. Whitman, was droning on and on about the Parthenon which I knew about already. I was about to get to his lips, his luscious, pink, perfect lips, when a palm stops my pencil. I jump.

"Annabeth," Mrs. Whitman barks, spitting on my face. I wrinkle my nose and wipe my face.

"Yes, Mrs. Whitman?" I say politely, giving a small smile. "Is there a problem?"

Mrs. Whitman narrows her eyes at me and slams my desk again. "Were you paying attention? If you were, how long did it take to build the Parthenon?"

I stare at her and widen my smile. "Construction was started by Callicrates and Ictinus and was designed by Phidias in 447 BC and ended in 438 BC, which means it took 9 years." I shrug and continue doodling on my notebook. In my peripheral vision, I see Mrs. Whitman scoff and growl at me.

Luke chuckles next to me. "You're such a smart ass, Annie," Luke laughs and I grimace at my nickname.

"I told you not to call me that!" I half scream half whisper.

Luke grins and nudges me. "What're you drawing? Can I see?" Luke leans closer to me and I push him back.

"No, these are private." The bell rings so I close my notebook and hug it. I sling my bag over my shoulder and Luke follows.

"What are you hiding, Annie?" Luke laughs, jokingly pushing me against the lockers. "Are you releasing your inner perverted thoughts into your drawings?"

I scoff and roll my eyes. "I remember telling you not to call me that."

Luke rolls his eyes. "Alright, Beth." I glance at him and open my mouth to complain, but suddenly I feel cold metal tickling my neck. His nose is approximately 5 centimeters away from mine, and his arms are like walls surrounding my face, his palms resting on the lockers.

"Tell me," Luke says, smirking. His breath tickles my nose. I refuse to look up at him. "What were you drawing in there?"

I turn my head away, but he lifts one of his arms and forces my chin up so that my eyes meet his. 4 centimeters, 3, 2...

"Luke!" Startled, we both jump away from each other. Luke goes to greet the person, leaving me blushing by the lockers.

I hug my bag closer to my chest and look down at the beige tiles. What was he doing? Why did he lean his face so close to mine? I stop in the middle of the hallway.

Does he like me?

I shake my head and brush the thought off. No, that can't be. He likes Thalia, Thalia likes him. I smile and nod. _Where's Thalia?_ I look down at the ground, still trying to shake off the blush growing on my cheeks. _Should I tell her about what happened? No, no. She'll get mad._

All of a sudden, my cheek hits someone's chest, and I stumble onto the ground as my papers slip from my fingers. My papers float down in the air like snow. I scramble up and gather my papers. I feel everyone's eyes drilling into my back, laughing at my clumsiness.

"I'm sorry," I mutter, giving a small bow. I avoid the person's eyes and stare at his shoes. "I wasn't looking. I'm sorry." I purse my lips, cursing myself in the head for being such a klutz.

I keep my head down and hug my books even closer. I'm about to reach my locker when I feel a tug on my arm. I straighten my back and make eye contact with the person, and instantly my eyes widen.

"Annabeth, right?" Percy says, his right hand in his pocket and his left clutching a sheet of paper. I stare, stunned.

_He...knows my name._

_He knows I exist._

"P-P-Percy J-Jackson," I stutter like an idiot. "Hi?" Trembling, I lift my right hand and jiggle it a little. He back at me and flashes a white, toothy smile. His dimples are prominent, making him cuter than he already was.

I feel like I'm going to collapse.

"You're Thalia's friend, right? I always see her near you, and she always talks about you whenever we have family get-togethers." Percy's eyes crinkle with humor.

I stare into his eyes, yearning to touch his hair. "She talks about me?"

Percy laughs. "Yeah, and it's pretty annoying." I giggle. Percy continues, "but at least now I see that her description of you actually fits you. Thalia's not the best with words."

I blink and stare at him for a second. _He's...talking to me. Percy Jackson is TALKING TO ME. _Alarms go off in my head, and all my brain cells throw a party. I give him a wavering smile. My teeth stick to my lip. I probably look like a mental weirdo.

Percy cocks his head to the side. "Annabeth?"

I swoon. _It's so sexy when he says my name! He knows my name!_

Percy says something, but I can't hear him over my thoughts. Oh, his voice is so deep and sexy, but playful. Argh, I love him. Look at his Adam's apple, ugh so sexy. And his jawline, his hair. I want him. I want him bad. He's so cute, but sexy at the same time. _  
_

"Annabeth? Are you listening?"

_MY NAME. HE KNOWS MY NAME. IT'S SOUNDS SO SEXY COMING FROM HIS SEXY MOUTH. AHHHHHHHHHHHH!_

I nod, not knowing what he just said. He starts to walk, and I walk with him.

"So what do you think about it," Percy asks. "Do you agree with me?"

I snap my head up and furrow my eyebrows. "Huh?"

Percy laughs. "So you weren't listening."

"Sorry." I say, giving him a small bow.

"I was talking about the new movie," he says. I notice that we're heading towards the exit of school. I promised that I would wait until Thalia finishes her art class, but I brush it off. I was with the Percy Jackson, and being connected with Percy, I knew that Thalia had more than enough money to call a cab. She could call a limo if she wanted. Percy stops, so I stop too. "I was wondering if you want to go see a movie with me."

I widen my eyes. _With...you? Alone?_

"What movie?" I ask, a smile creeping onto my face. Was he asking me out?

"I was going to see a movie with a few of my friends. You could invite Thalia, if you want. The movie is How To Train Your Dragon 2."

I nod. So it's not just with me. "Thalia's got a after school class."

"But you can come, right?" Percy pokes out his bottom lip and clasps his hands together. Begging...me? He was begging me? I should be the one begging him.

I nod and give a cheeky grin. "Alright." I knit my eyebrows together. "Why How To Train Your Dragon 2?"

Percy pops out of his begging act and frowns. "Why? Is it too childish for you?"

My eyes widen and I start shaking my head. "N-n-no," I stutter. "It's just, Lucy came out. That seems cool."

Percy smiles, and his dimples make a reappearance. "I've been waiting for that movie to come out since I was..." Percy pauses as he counts on his fingers. I roll my eyes. "...12 years old. That movie was my childhood."

I shake my head and smile. "That's cute."

"Hmm?"

"What?" I say, trying to cover up my words. "Oh I didn't say anything."

_Shit, _I curse_. Stop making a fool of yourself, Annabeth! Pull it together._

I take a deep breath and hesitate to ask the next question, but it flows out of my mouth. "Why are you suddenly talking to me?"

Percy seems taken aback. "Oh 'cause uh," he scratches the back of his head. "Well, Thalia talks a lot about you. I thought, 'I should meet this chick.'"

I feel my cheeks warm up again. I've been doing that too much today.

The school is almost empty. Only a few students dot the main hall. We're the only ones at the exit. I stare at him, right in the eye. He fidgets under my gaze, and I decide to wave bye and mutter a 'see you later.'

When I walk out of school, my heart begins to beat faster and faster even though I'm walking slowly.

A wave of relief washes over me, covering my embarrassment for what happened in the morning.

He knows that I exist.


	4. Play It Cool

11 Stages Of Having A Crush

by FanficTimeWithAlyssum

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Rick Riordan. The words are mine. The plot is based on a BuzzFeed article called 11 Stages Of Having A Crush. Check it out. It's basically what's going to happen, but with a little twists I'm going to throw in.

Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Play It Cool

_Stage 3: You'll try to play it cool. (It won't work)_

I was already in the theatre when she called. I forgot to silence my phone, so my phone rang, echoing in the darkness. Right when Toothless kills Hiccup's dad. **(Sorry, spoiler alert.)**

The ginger bitch next to me hisses. "Take it outside!"

I nod apologeticly and try to muffle my phone with my scarf, and once I pass through the theatre doors I accept the call.

"Hello?" I lock myself in the bathroom, trying to swallow tears of embarrassment. "This is Annabeth. Who is this?"

"Goddamn, Annie. Don't you check the caller ID before you answer? I could be a drug dealer."

I roll my eyes at my beloved sarcastic friend. "What do you want, Thalia?"

I can feel Thalia roll her eyes, even though she's not here. "Why didn't you wait for me? Where are you?"

"I'm in the mall," I say, trying to keep my voice down. I take a deep, shaky breath. "Your cousin invited me to watch How To Train Your Dragon 2."

Thalia gasps. "Nico invited you to the see a movie?"

I laugh sadly. "You're so stupid. You know which cousin."

"Yeah yeah, I know. Is it just you two?"

I sigh and rub my eyes. "No. He brought a few of his, quote quote, friends. One of his friends, Rachel, is too friendly. She's holding his hand and kissing his cheek."

Thalia giggles. "Gosh, Annie. You gotta play it cool. Go with the flow."

I roll my eyes. "Don't you think I tried that?"

Thalia pauses to think. "What do you mean, tried? What happened?"

I take another shaky breath. My hands tremble as I open my mouth to tell Thalia another embarrassing moment, the third one that day. "When I walked into the mall, there was Percy, smiling. He was waving at me." At the memory, I smile. I swoon, and my body heats up a little. His enthusiastic smile does that to people. "I waved back. I tried to say, 'Hey, Percy. Thanks for inviting me to the theatre. Do you want me to pay for your ticket,' when Red comes bouncing up to us, and takes Percy's arm. And then-"

"Wait, wait, wait. Red? Who's Red?"

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare. It's her initials, R-E-D. Plus she's a ginger. Anyways, she takes Percy's arm, and Percy follows her. Shattered, I walk slowly towards them, and walk into a pole."

"Nice."

"Thalia, can you come pick me up?"

Thalia sighs. "Yeah yeah, hold on. I'm coming. See ya."

Thalia hangs up, and I exhale slowly. I close my eyes and throw my head back and laugh. I wonder how ridiculous I look in Percy's eyes. I probably look like some crazy fangirl, trying too hard to get my hands on Percy. I bang my head against the stall. _I wonder when that movie will end, _I think. I open the stall door to go and wait for Thalia, but as soon as I do my phone rings again, this time echoing through the empty bathroom.

I check the caller ID this time. It's Luke, and suddenly I smack my forehead, pissed off by my own forgetfulness. I remember promising Luke to meet him at Monster Donuts with Thalia. I hesitate before tapping accept, knowing Luke will be disappointed.

"Hey, Luke," I say cautiously.

"Hey, Luke is all you can say, eh?" Luke growls into the phone, making my cringe.

"Sorry," I squeak. "How long have you been waiting?"

"An hour," he scoffs. "Where are you? Where's Thals?"

"I'm in the mall. Thalia's coming to pick me up. We'll meet you there."

"You better," Luke says, and hangs up. I exhale once more and barge out of the bathroom.

As I walk towards the exit of the mall, I see Percy and Rachel coming out of the theatre, laughing, their arms connected. I freeze, too embarrassed and sad to move. But they're coming my way, and I'm too afraid to hear what they say to me after leaving the theatre like that. So, I jump behind a cardboard poster of Channing Tatum from 22 Jump Street. I can't breathe, can't move, can't think. I stay completely still, but only my tears dare to move. They roll down my cheeks which are tomato red, shining through the light coat of blush I brushed on. I hear Rachel's fake cackle pass by, and I know that they are gone.

I tumble out of the poster and onto the popcorn-littered floor and scramble to get up. I feel people'a eyes drilling into my back. Their laughs ring in my ears.

_"What is she doing?" A lady cackles, "does she need help?"_

I feel drunk. I want to go to sleep, but instead I keep my head down and drag myself to the doors. Thalia waiting in her car. Although we're only 16 and Thalia only has her permit, Thalia likes to steal her dad's car and drive places. She's not allowed to drive to nor from school.

I climb into her car, and as soon as the door closes, Thalia steps on the gas and makes my back slam into the leather seat.

"Thalia, really!" I click my seatbelt on and rub my forehead. "God, you should never drive."

Thalia leans over and slaps me, leaving one hand on the wheel. We swerve to the left, making a driver beep aggressively at us.

"Thalia!"

"Alright! Alright," Thalia puts her hand back on the wheel. "Where do you want pme to drop you off, Miss Chase?"

I roll my eyes at her polite sarcasm. "Luke said to meet him at Monster Donuts," I look at Thalia and narrow my eyes. I mock Luke's deep, intimidating voice, "Or else."

Thalia throws her head back and laughs, and the car swerves to the right. I screech and grab the seat. Thalia cuts the other drivers like she's playing Grand Auto Theft, receiving belligerent beeps and several, 'HOW ABOUT A TURN SIGNAL YOU *****!' To which Thalia replies, 'OH GO **** YOURSELF!"

By the time we enter Monster Donuts, I'm wide-eyed and pale, and my knuckles are white from gripping the chair so much, but Thalia's skipping like a 6 year old girl.

"Hey Luke," Thalia greets, flapping her hand like a love-sick fangirl.

"Luke," I mutter, giving a slight bow. I grip onto the chair again and crouch over, holding my stomach.

"What's wrong, Beth?" Luke says, scooting his chair next to mine.

Thalia does the same. "Are you sick?"

I try to shrug it off and lighten the mood by saying, "I'm just a little nauseous thanks to someone's driving," I glare at Thalia who scowls, "Let's have some donuts. I want a strawberry frosted one. With lots of chocolate sprinkles."

_So that I can drown my embarrassment in it_, I add in my mind, mentally slapping myself for being so sheepish.

When Luke goes to get the donuts, I see Thalia'n eyes follow him. Momentarily, I brush off my nausea and my mind concentrates on Thalia and Luke. Thalia's eyes scroll up and down, her lips pouts, then smiles, then frowns.

She's checking him out...

...and I'm not happy about it.


	5. Hope

11 Stages Of Having A Crush

by FanficTimeWithAlyssum

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Rick Riordan. The words are mine. The plot is based on a BuzzFeed article called 11 Stages Of Having A Crush. Check it out. It's basically what's going to happen, but with a little twists I'm going to throw in.

Enjoy!

Chapter 4: Hope

_Stage 4: You'll post cute pics on Instagram and hope they are looking._

It was a dark and stormy night. I found myself sketching his jaw again, but it when I sat back and glanced at it, it looked more like a bunch of squiggles than a jaw. I plopped on my bed and sighed. For a moment, I close my eyes and listened to the soft pitter patter of raindrops hitting the roof and to my slow inhales and exhales.

My mind wanders to Rachel, and the moment of tranquility is gone. It's replaced by my frustrated wails, screaming to stop liking him.

I rip a page out of my architecture notebook dedicated to drawing him. I pin it to the wall with a thumbnail right between his eyes.

"Do you know how confused I am?" I yell at the page, clenching darts in my hand. "One minute you don't know me, and the second you're asking me to go to the movies with you! But then, it's not just with you, it's with that bitch, Rachel! That clingy slut is practically ripping off your shirt, and YOU don't seem to notice!" I stomp in frustration, and throw one dart at the page, but I miss miserably. "Why didn't you invite Nico and Grover? Huh? It had to be Rachel! Were you trying to mess with my feelings? Mess with me?"

Angrily, I shoot the darts which end up in between his eyebrows. "My grades are falling because of you! Because I can't stop drawing your beautiful face! Why aren't you ugly, huh? It would have been better if you were ugly so I wouldn't obsess over you! But here you are, sexier than Taylor Lautener. Just stop! I hate you!" I scream, scratching at my scalp. Trembling, I squat on the floor and look up at my sketch of Percy smiling brightly. He was innocent, too innocent. He was friendly, too friendly. I grunt and pluck the darts off his face. I run my thumb over his nose and eventually wander to his lips.

Suddenly, I hear my door unlock and I scramble to my bed. It's just Matthew, though.

I sigh. "What do you want?"

Matthew scowls. He points to a digital clock by my bedside table and says, "It's already 11:15, Annabeth. We're trying to sleep."

With that, Matthew yawns and walks out of my bedroom. "That kid, really," I mutter as I pull my sheets over my head. Instead of sleeping, I slide my phone from under my pillow into my hands and go on Google. I bite my lip. The app is connected to my email. I click the arrow in the corner and log out. I swallow as I type PERSEUS JACKSON into the search box. The first thing that comes up is a link to Percy Jackson's Instagram.

I scramble out of bed and tap on the link. As it loads, I walk back and forth. Is this Percy's Instagram? There's a high chance that it's not him, but still...

I check my phone and see that it loaded. Although it's a private account, I see that it shows the profile picture and the bio. I bite my bottom lip as I scroll to find his bio or even a photo. _I hope it's him, _I think_. I really do..._

_...but why do I hope? Am I some kind of stalker? _

I grunt in frustration and throw my phone on my bed. I place a hand on my hip and pace back and forth.

"Annabeth," I hear a voice call.

I furrow my eyebrows. I turn around and face Luke. I jump back a little in surprise, but then I just plop onto my bed. Luke sits down next to me.

"What do I do, Luke?" I ask him, my voice cracking. "If I keep liking him, my grades will plummet from and A to a D. What do I do, Luke?"

Luke smiles and looks at the ceiling. "Why do you like him when I'm next to you?"

"Aish, why are you so conceited? I'm asking you seriously, you idiot. What do I do?"

Luke nods. "Scroll through his Instagram. Maybe it'll make you feel better, or just fan the flames." With that, Luke winks and fades into the night air, leaving me alone. It was just a figment of my imagination, and I'm just a crazy girl talking to herself. Taking figment-Luke's advice, I return to my phone. I scroll to the profile picture and see that it isn't him.

I sigh and continue to explore the many Percy Jackson accounts.

"Ah, I should make an account so that he knows that it's me, just Annabeth," I assure myself. "Make an account, Annabeth."

It's already 1:00 AM when I finally find his account.

"It's-it's-it's him," I stutter, my eyes widening from excitement. "I found him!"

With my newly made account, I don't hesitate to tap follow. Only after I click, I start thinking.

"Stupid Annabeth!" I slap my forehead, sighing. "He'll get a notification at 1 in the morning that you want to follow him! You'll look so desperate. You've already made a fool out of yourself."

My thumb hovers over the unfollow button, but I can't bring myself to click it. I close my eyes and slide my phone under my pillow. Oh well, YOLO, right?

I decide to view his profile in the morning. It's not private, so even if he doesn't let me follow him I can still view his photos. Even after the embarrassing moments that happened to me that day, I still managed to get a dreamless sleep.

It's 5:30 in the morning when. I wake up. My hair is frizzy and sticking up in random places and my mouth tastes like dirt. I slam my palm on my angry alarm clock to calm it down. I feel myself drifting to sleep again, but as soon as I feel myself slipping away, my phone vibrates.

"Aish, really! What do you want now, huh?" I whine as I slide my phone out of my pillow and yawn. I read what my phone has vibrated for. It's from Instagram.

My mouth drops down, and I rush to fix my hair and throw on an outfit.

* * *

I'd like to thank all of you who continue to read this. It means a lot to me! Saranghae 3 Please enjoy and continue. Please contact me if I make a mistake.

Speaking of mistakes, I made quite a big one in the prologue. If you haven't noticed, I put that Percy has brown hair. Sorry! I finally remembered and got the time to fix it.

Anyways, thanks! I love you!


	6. Realization

11 Stages Of Having A Crush

by FanficTimeWithAlyssum

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Rick Riordan. The words are mine. The plot is based on a BuzzFeed article called 11 Stages Of Having A Crush. Check it out. It's basically what's going to happen, but with a little twists I'm going to throw in.

Enjoy!

Chapter 5: Realization

_Stage 5: It finally settles in your thick head that your crush doesn't like you. You don't want to believe it._

_Percy Jackson has accepted your request. Percy Jackson has requested to follow you back._

That was what I thought my phone was going to tell me. Well, that's what I had hoped. As I rushed to get to my bus stop, I noticed that I was wearing one of my gray Converse on my right foot and black Vans on my left. My hair was up in a messy bun, my breath still heavy with it's morning stench. But that wasn't what was important.

The text I got from Thalia was important.

I pace back and forth, stomping on the shriveled up leaves resting on the cement. My mind felt like it was going to pour right out of my ears. My heart plummeted to my stomach, making my belly quench with pain. If they were planning on doing that, why did he invite me to go with them? To give me a hint that I should leave him alone? To stop liking him? Or did he just want to see me confused and frustrated?

I wail and stomp again. I thought that he liked me, at least as a friend. I thought that it was okay that he thought of me as a friend because at least he knew I was alive. But it's even worse now.

He doesn't see me as a friend.

In his eyes, I just some wannabe crazy girl who likes him so much. I'm just one of those girls. I'm not special.

I shake my head and laugh. I wipe my eyes, flicking away the tears that threatened to stain my cheeks. "No, no," I laugh sadly. "Maybe Thalia spelled something wrong."

I nod and desperately search for my phone. I click on Thalia message and frown. She even included a picture. It couldn't have been wrong.

The picture shows a horrifying frenzy of red hair and freckles and a familiar dark exotic black hair with his perfectly tanned olive skin. His lips, his luscious, moist, kissable lips, lips that I tried so hard to hate yet I always ended up spending all night shading and perfecting them, were on that slut bag's lips.

I sink to the pavement and suddenly I feel like my heart's going to stop. I want it to stop.

_Make it stop, just make this horrible feeling stop..._

I feel like I'm a vase that was dropped then caught, but then dropped again. I feel my phone vibrate again. I hesitate to look at it, but even after seeing that picture, my curiosity gets the better of me.

_Percy sent this to everyone. Annabeth..._

I sigh and scratch my neck. I though I finally had a chance with him. I guess not. Just as the bus pulls up, I remember my homework on my desk. Then I notice that my bag was half empty, only consisting of my agenda and my lunch, but my homework nowhere to be found.

Luke pulls me into the seat and my head lands on his chest. His hand strokes my hair, and I let it go. All the pain, frustration, and confusion pours out with my tears, staining his red shirt with my sadness.

He doesn't say anything, and my throat hurts too much to mutter a thanks. In that small gesture, that small moment of genuine kindness, I confirmed it. I put his name on the list of my crushes only because he was a small crush. I knew why I was jealous of why Thalia was checking him out. I understood now.

Luke was a warm guy. He was okay when it came to girls; he was sometimes flustered or awkward. Sometimes, he was very possessive towards me and Thalia, but he was just very protective over us. He knew when to talk and when not to, he knew when only gestures made everything okay, when gestures served better than words.

And I like that. I like Luke, a lot. He wasn't a small crush anymore.

We stayed like that the whole way to school. Along the way, my bawling subsided to sniffles, but my eyes were still puffy. We didn't utter a word until we met Thalia by our lockers.

She stood there, looking at us. I block my face from others so that they don't see my puffy red eyes.

"Annabeth," Thalia hugs me. "Are you okay?"

I shake my head and laugh sadly. "I've never been better. What was so great about him anyway?"

Luke gives an exhausted sigh. "That's what I've been saying! What do you see in him?"

Thalia laughs and leans towards us. "You didn't hear this from me but Jason caught him masterbating once."

My jaw drops. "No freaking way."

Thalia laughs and puts a finger to her lip. Luke giggles and puts his arms around us, and in that moment, our crushes didn't matter. It didn't matter there was a clear love triangle between us. In that moment, we were just best friends. We were the golden trio, the three musketeers. No one was a third wheel. I was lucky to have them, especially because of him and the situation.

And the situation broke that moment. With a single word, they shattered our smiles.

The first thing I noticed when I turned around was their hands. His hand was on her hip and the other in his pocket. Her hands her on his chest. They beamed at us, and return we shot them malicious eye rolls and scoffs.

"What do you want now?" Thalia scowls, stepping towards the couple.

"Leave us alone," Luke growls.

"Go away," I squeak, my face turning white. Luke squeezes my arm in comfort and Thalia uses her arms to block them from us.

"You got something to say? Say it to me," Thalia narrows her eyes and growls. _Damn, that girl is like a wolf. _

Rachel rolls her eyes, unaffected by Thalia's intimidation. "Please tell Annabeth thank you for yesterday. Because of her, we got time alone together. Bye! Let's go Percy!"

Percy mutters bye and gets dragged off by Rachel. They left us with our mouths gaping, confused. There was a second of silence, but Luke breaks it.

"Time alone together?" Luke mocks her high-pitched voice. "What does that mean?"

"What did you do?" Thalia asks.

I rush to explain. "I felt like I was intruding. They were snuggling and I was next to them, popping candy into my mouth. So I left."

Luke jokingly punches the lockers. "You should've jumped in between them!"

"Or beat the bitchy red head," Thalia adds.

"Because I left, they hooked up," I was dazed. Luke and Thalia grow quiet. "He doesn't like me. He doesn't. Not even a little."


	7. Acting

11 Stages Of Having A Crush

by FanficTimeWithAlyssum

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Rick Riordan. The words are mine. The plot is based on a BuzzFeed article called 11 Stages Of Having A Crush. Check it out. It's basically what's going to happen, but with a little twists I'm going to throw in.

Enjoy!

Chapter 6: Acting

_Stage 6: Pretend to be all whatever about it._

I've never been the best actor. When I was in third grade, I forgot all my lines and started saying random facts about the play. But I needed acting skills at that moment, so I tried my best.

"Annabeth, are you okay about them dating?" Thalia says as she sips coffee. I look at Luke, who munches on a chocolate frosted donut. After school on the day they started dating, we went to Monster Donuts for a snack. We brought Nico, Jason, and Grover along too. I'm okay with them since they hate Rachel too, but whenever I look at them I remember Percy.

I scoff. The words I say next hurts my heart, but in order to get over him, I have to play it cool. I want to get over him, no. I _need_ to get over him. "I hate him, now. What was so great about him? It was just his eyes. I though he was different, that he wasn't just a stereotypical popular, good looking playboy, because of his eyes. I was wrong."

I close my eyes and metally slap myself. _That was like a squeak. They won't believe that._

Grover wipes his face, which is sticky from his glazed donut. "Uh, I don't mean to interrupt, but Percy's not a playboy. He's only seeing Rachel right now."

I nod and blush from my mistake. "Sorry."

Nico shakes his head. "Rachel though, of all girls."

Jason laughs. "She's been chasing after him since kindergarten. She sent him a paper heart letter every Valentine's day."

We laugh. My laugh comes out nervously. I grab a strawberry frosted donut and take a big bite to cover it.

Luke speaks up. "Maybe he started dating her because he wanted her to stop chasing him."

Grover shakes his head and open's his mouth to speak, but donut crumbs spew everywhere. Some lands on Thalia's face. We start giggling, everyone except Grover and Thalia. Thalia growls, and Grover puts his hands up in surrender.

"Spare me!" He squeaks, and Luke pulls Thalia back into her seat. He grabs her hand to do so, and I freeze. My heart skips a beat.

I'm pulled back to reality by Jason, who says, "Percy's been talking about Rachel. Not as a friend, but as a woman. I think he sincerely likes her."

Everyone grows silent. I sip my drink and stuff another donut into my mouth. I look at my friends' facial expressions. Jason and Grover fidget uncomfortably under my gaze. Nico is checking his phone, completely phlegmatic about the whole situation. I glance at Thalia and Luke; Thalia is biting her lip, but I see the corner of her mouth escape and smirk a little. Luke reaches over and pats her hand under the table, and I stand up. My chair screeches behind me, making everyone, including Thalia and Luke, jump out of their seats.

I freeze once again. _What am I doing?_ I quickly smile to cover my sudden burst.

"Are you okay, Annabeth?" Jason breaks the moment of silence first. Gosh, he looks cute whe- I mean...

I force myself to smile widely and push the words out of my throat. "Yeah, my foot just fell asleep. I wanted to shake it out."

I remain standing and look down at everyone. As if they were puppets, all of their mouths fell open at the same time. I furrow my eyebrows. Have I done something wrong? Did I scare them with my sudden outburst?

"Sorry guys," I start, "I didn't mean to scare you."

Thalia snaps out of it first. She abruptly stands up and grabs my shoulders, pushing my down to my seat. "Annabeth, look! It's Percy...yay."

My eyes widen and my heart stops. Did I hear it right? "Who?"

Jason, Grover, Nico and Luke snap out of it a second later. "Percy!"

I swiftly turn around find myself face to face with the person I hate and love. "Hey Percy," I say in a monotone voice, dazed. What is he doing here?

What I see in his eyes is not the usual playful meriment I'm used to seeing when I look at Percy; the playfullness is suddenly replaced with fear. His cheeks are red, he's trembling, and his eyes are filled to the brim with tears. At that moment, I forgot about Luke and Thalia. I wanted to comfort him. Not because I liked him, but he looked so pitiful at that moment. I opened my mouth to ask what happened, but Nico beats me to it.

Still looking at his phone, Nico asks with a voice that carries anything but interest, "What happened?" It sounded more like a statement than a question.

Percy takes out a crumbled piece of paper and when he flattens it out it shows a big red F in the middle of the paper. "I failed the midterm."

Nico looks up from his phone. "Oh, thank god. I thought it was something important."

Jason and Grover try to swallow their laughs as Thalia smacks Nico in the head with her bag.

"That's so easy for you to say," Thalia snarls. "I heard you got everything right in that test."

Nico shrugs in response. I glance at Luke who takes no interest in the situation. He munches on a donut.

"Nico," Percy begs, "can you tutor me? Please, I'll do anything. Just help me get my grades up again."

Nico rolls his eyes but doesn't look up from his phone. "No."

Thalia smacks his head again. "Can you stop being such an asshole and help someone out for once?"

Nico shrugs. "Can't. Got stuff planned. Sorry."

Thalia and Percy sigh. I look down at my lap. I open my mouth to say something, but instead I only think it.

_I can tutor him. I also got a perfect score on that test. _

I exhale loudly, which causes everyone to look at me. I avert my eyes from theirs', and pick up my cup to take a sip, but her piercing blue eyes stop me. Only Thalia's eyes catch mine, and I freeze. I know what exactly what she is thinking. My eyes widen and I take in a deep breath to scold her, but I'm too late; her mouth is already flapping.

Now that Thalia is talking, Luke is paying attention. This annoys me, but what annoys me more is that I don't know why Luke paying attention only when Thalia is talking annoys me. I shake my head. I shouldn't be paying attention to Luke, I should be paying attention to the bitch who's about to embarrass me.

"Percy, Annabeth can tutor you! She also got a perfect score on the test. Plus she's not very busy doing _stuff_ like Nico."

Nico growls in response. "Hey, that _stuff_ is very important."

Thalia cackles maliciously. "Important my ass. You're probably just going to lock yourself in your room and watch porn."

Nico's face flushes and everybody chuckles. Nico sinks into his seat and mutters, "bitch," while Jason shakes his head.

"She got you," Grover stifles his laugh.

I turn to Percy, who is laughing. It's a relief, really. I felt my throat tighten seeing him so down. I don't want him to ever feel down. I turn back and look at the faces of my friends.

When the giggling dies down, I've confirmed it. Even if I don't have the slightest chance with him, he's got a great girlfriend, and even if I disappear his world will keep on going, I want to help him. Plus, if you truly love something, you have to set it free, right?

Without turning back to him, I say, "Alright, Percy. When should I start tutoring you?"


End file.
